Month Ahead: February '18

February might be the shortest month, but it’s by no means the smallest for us. Some would even call it a blast. More on that later though! Here’s what you can expect from the coming weeks, starting with three heavyweights:

Clue Scroll Overhaul

The most significant update this month is the Clue Scroll Overhaul. We’re introducing Master-tier clues, adding over sixty new rewards, improving the drop tables and making some of our existing rewards available to free players. There’s also a new hub for all your clue scroll needs, a collection log to track your rewards and a new Globetrotter outfit that will help with all your clue-hunting endeavours. Teleport to clue locations or swap your current clue for a different one - if you love clue scrolls, the Globetrotter outfit is a must. And don’t forget hidey holes! Conveniently located, hidey holes let you stash any items required for your emote clues so that they’re close to hand without weighing you down.

That’s not all. You gave us your recommendations, and we took heed, choosing the ones we liked best:

Graphical updates to Uri and the Saradomin, Zamorak and Guthix wizards.

Meerkats, which increase your scan range, and an animation that lets you know if you’re close.

Stackable caskets, which allow you to save up rewards and open them all in one go.

The ability to obtain up to 25 unstarted clues of each clue tier, ready to begin at your leisure.

And many more!

Gold Premier Club member? If so, you’ll benefit further from this update with a complementary Master scroll, which is available to claim until 11th March. And if not, then you’d better hurry because our membership-and-more offer ends at 23:59 UTC on Sunday 4th February!

Bank Rework Taster

Seldom a forum post goes by without mention of the bank rework in the comments, and this month we’re delighted to bring forward some of this work in what we’re calling the Bank Rework Taster. As part of this, you’ll have access to Diango’s interface and the costume room from buttons in the bank to withdraw or deposit without any inconvenience. We’re also turning Wise Old Man’s clean up interface into a filter! Further to that, presets one through ten will have dedicated shortcut keys (check out the tooltips to see what they are) and ‘Manage Presets’ will load more quickly. And that’s just a taster of the full experience!

Mining and Smithing Beta

Midway through the month, we’ll be trialling some new mechanics in the Mining and Smithing Beta, including the ore bag, upgrading equipment, decorating equipment, heating with the forge, non-competitive rocks and new tiers of metal.

All of this will take place within an enclosed pocket of Gielinor with only the core mechanics available. You'll have access to all the existing and new mining rocks and be able to smith armour and weapons with the existing and new metals. There are no restrictions here: try any pickaxe you like, set and reset your levels, and produce ore or bars from thin air! We want your feedback on all of it so we know we’re delivering the update you want, so be sure to let us know what you think come the time.

Ninja projects

Here’s what you can thank everybody’s favourite team for this month:

It'll be possible to recast the Crystallise spell on the same skilling location without having to wait for the previous cast to expire.

You'll have a ‘Don’t ask me again’ option for special slayer assignments, which can be toggled back on through dialogue options with the slayer master.

You'll be able to blitz through Birds Nests as though they were Prawn Balls.

There will be more quick chat options, including ‘I have obtained the X skilling pet’ and ‘My Hollowtoof kill count is Y’ (the counter for this last one starts when the update launches).

Already in-game, but worth a mention) You'll be able to bind action bars to specific weapon styles, meaning that when you swap your main-hand, your primary action bar will switch accordingly. You can toggle this by going to 'Action Bar Settings' within the ‘Game Settings’ interface.

Mimic Boss

You all know the Mimic Boss, but did you know it was going permanent? Defeat either the easy, medium, hard or the elite Mimic Boss within the correlating allotted time to win a mystery box that scales in value the more hardcore you get!

You have until 19th February to grab a free boss token from the Mimic Chest in Burthorpe, which teleports you to the Mimic Chamber and disappears once the boss is defeated. After that, it’ll be down to you to trade tokens or earn them through combat and, occasionally, skilling.

Zodiac Festival

Quick question: have you ever attended Gielinor’s Zodiac Festival? This new time-limited event will have you completing tasks that change up to every three days, depending on your preference, in exchange for Zodiac Talismans and experience - and eventually mystery boxes!

GameBlast

We’ll be setting up camp in the office with our friends over at Special Effect on the weekend of the 23rd February for our customary 24-hour live stream, complete with events, competitions and crazy challenges. What's more, it's all in support of a fantastic charity that allows the disadvantaged to experience the games we love, so please donate generously. In exchange, we'll thank you with a unique LootScape reward! You'll also be able to purchase this year’s exclusive GameBlast bundles, with all proceeds going to Special Effect.

Alongside GameBlast we’ll also be hosting our first Double XP Weekend of the year, so now’s the time to start prepping. What’s your next 99?

Enjoy!

Phew, what a month, and it’s barely even begun. Tune in to next Tuesday’s live stream for more details on all of this, as well as a (guaranteed) new LootScape item for February. There’s something a little fishy about it…